Downtown Living Becoming More Popular

     Living in a house in the suburbs is part of the American dream, but with gas prices nearing $4 a gallon that dream is moving closer to town.
     WDEF News 12's Mandy Odom has more on the downtown real estate market.
     Steve Cantrell says, "I don't have a commute. I work downtown. I walk five blocks to work."
     Steve Cantrell moved from Cleveland and says with gas prices now he's saving 300 to 400 dollars a month by living downtown.
     Realtor Donna Williams says points to more available housing than just a few years ago encouraging more people to make the move downtown.
     Donna Williams says, "Folks are finding that they are downtown anyway, and the price of gas is really encouraging folks to reconsider living downtown."
     Williams says more downtown residents already think about the resources they consume.
     Cantrell says, "The rent's a little more, but it's offset by not having to buy gas."
     He says he can afford to pay more because he's saving more.
     Realtors say it's a buyer's market right now with low prices and great mortgage rates in Chattanooga.
     People moving downtown vary from singles and couples to families and retirees.
     Crye Leike Regional VP Rob Hatchett says, " The city has to make sure they keep bringing jobs into downtown. People are starting to want to live very close to where their job is and so we keep bringing jobs into downtown, downtown living will continue to grow."
     In downtown Chattanooga, Mandy Odom WDEF News 12.
     Condos downtown cost anywhere from $130,000 to a million dollars.